US Troops Battle Sunni, Shiite Militants

BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. forces in Iraq report waging successful battles against both Sunni and Shiite extremists.

The battles north and south of Baghdad came as the military seeks to take advantage of the improving security situation in Iraq.

In recent weeks, the Americans have been fighting al-Qaida extremists in an area about 60 miles north of the capital. The battle against insurgent groups has steadily moved away from Anbar province and Baghdad, and is now focused on the fringes of Diyala province.

In another operation targeting a Shiite extremist group southeast of Baghdad, U.S. military forces killed 11 militants on Thursday. They were reportedly members of an extremist group that had broken away from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has announced it has seized two men possibly linked to the capture of three American soldiers earlier this year.